This disclosure relates generally to modifications of materials that can carry codes, and more specifically to codes that can be written and read using optical devices.
Modern laboratories rely on laboratory information management systems (LIMS) for efficient and robust operation. The functions and features of LIMS can vary from lab to lab depending upon the type of work done by the lab. For example, a diagnostic lab that handles human samples will have regulatory requirements that are stricter than those for a research lab that handles non-human sample, and accordingly the LIMS for the diagnostic lab will have compliance features built in that are not necessary for the research lab. However, generally speaking LIMS provides workflow protocols, sample tracking, data tracking and in some cases management of personnel and enterprise resource planning.
The expense of LIMS increases with the complexity of the hardware used for tracking. For example, many labs will use identifiers, such as barcodes or radio frequency identification (RFID), to track samples. The identifiers can be costly as can be the devices used to detect the identifiers. Furthermore, since the identifiers are generally an extrinsic object, difficulties and costs can arise from affixing the identifiers to samples in a way that is robust (i.e. permanent through the course of the workflow), convenient to detect (i.e. on a face of a sample vessel that is easily accessible to a laboratory technician) and innocuous to the sample. For example, a barcode sticker or RFID device that comes off of a sample during handling or that blocks detection of the sample itself can be disruptive to laboratory operation and can lead to incorrect results or diagnosis.
Thus, there exists a need for cost effective identifiers that are compatible with vessels used to move samples through a laboratory workflow. The present disclosure addresses this need and provides other advantages as well.